The Holidays are Coming! Are You Stressed by Your Dog’s Jumping Behavior?

Are you feeling tons of stress about your dog’s jumping behavior over the holidays?
We get how overwhelming and embarrassing this behavior can be especially when you have guests over the holidays.

Let’s help your dog be calm and well-behaved over the holidays.
I want you to be aware that your doesn’t jump on people to spite you.

When two dogs greet each other they love to go up to the dog’s face.

They are trying to get to human’s faces to say “hi” when they are jumping. So, the first step is to be grateful that your dog “likes” people.

The next step is to change your own reaction when your dog jumps on people. Remain calm.

As soon as your dog sits be ready to c/t (click and treat). You want your dog to realize he / she will get attention and rewards when he / she chooses to sit. The clicker is a way to mark “good” behavior and signals that a treat is coming. Remember to click the sit and follow the click with a treat.

You will also want to help your guests to be consistent with the training. Some of them may think it is cute when your dog jumps. They may want to pet your dog when he / she jumps.

When your dog jumps, tell them to ignore your dog and turn their back to your dog. Remind them to remain boring and quiet towards your dog. Once your dog sits they can give your dog attention again.

This can be challenging for visitors at first, but explain to them that you want your dog to settle instead of jump. You are focusing on shifting this behavior. In order to this you will need their support.

If you are having tons of people over the holidays, make it fun. Include the guests in your training program.

Give each guest a bag of treats. Tell them when your dog jumps to turn their backs and to give your dog a treat when he / she sits. Allow them to participate in the training with you.

To help spread the word and keep everyone on the same page, send out a group e-mail or text message explaining what they are to do with your dog and why.

Then help remind them by putting a cute sign on your front door: “Please give my dog a treat for sitting and remember to turn your back if he / she jumps. Grab a bag of treats here”.

Have a bag of treats for each house guest to grab. If you use treats, skip your dog’s dinner that day or at least give him / her less food.

Even better yet, if your dog will work for his / her kibble, use all his / her dinner for training. Then each bag can be filled with your dog’s kibble.

It is easy over the holidays to forget that you can get help and delegate some of the dog training. Your guests will probably want to help you.

All you have to do is teach them that your dog needs to be good “first” to get the attention and treats.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Johanna Teresi, Four Legged Scholars LLC – Dog Training Serving Geauga, Portage, Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties.

Ohio4leggedscholars.com 440-548-7312